Kristo Kaarmann

Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Wise

Search every verified Kristo Kaarmann interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a 2018 interview, Kristo Kaarmann, co-founder and CEO of TransferWise (now Wise), stated that banks "haven't really treated their users transparently" regarding international payments. He described his personal experience of losing approximately 500 euros on a transfer through HSBC, which he attributed to banks using an exchange rate that adds about 5% on top of the real rate. Kaarmann expressed a desire for more competition in the cross-border payments market, saying he would "recommend them wholeheartedly" if another company could perform some routes better than TransferWise, as he believes "users deserve to have the best option available." Kaarmann also outlined the company's "mission zero," which he defined as the goal of moving money "nearly at zero cost between any two countries and currencies and nearly instantly." He noted that TransferWise does not take positions in foreign exchange or support currency speculation, and that the company remains focused on cross-border transfers rather than domestic services.